Lagos – An NGO, African Hub International says it will train 500 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to grow their businesses and contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of Nigeria.
Its Executive Director, Mrs Oluwole Oluneye, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
Oluneye said that over the years, SMEs in Africa were unstructured, unorganised and have no direction.
“In 2018, we are looking at the training of 500 SMEs as the first set in our training centre which was inaugurated by Ambassador Robin Sanders, a former U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, on March 15.
“After the training, those interested in doing local business we will look at how their businesses will be fully established.
“For those interested in international business, we will connect and take advantage of the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), which has been in existence for 17 years,” Oluneye said.
She said that the organisation would also monitor all the SMEs after the training and guide them until their businesses were fully established.
Oluneye said, “The most important thing in building SMEs is to create a platform for them to thrive and committed to the growth of the nation’s economy.
“We are looking from a positive and committed angle on the growth of the economy and the growth of SMEs which are drivers of the economy of any country.’’
She said that the organisation would also provide platform where entrepreneurs could grow SMEs to contribute significantly to the nation’s GDP.
“We need to build bridges across the Atlantic, we need to build partnership over the continent so that our SMEs can leverage on the advantage. (NAN)